Bonfield man pleads guilty to DUI to avoid sex abuse charge

A 40-year-old Bonfield man won't be prosecuted for the alleged molesting of his stepdaughter after he agreed to plead guilty Monday to a separate DUI charge stemming from an accident that left a Limestone teen seriously injured.

William Kibbons, who had pleaded not guilty to the 2009 criminal sexual abuse charges, pleaded guilty instead to aggravated DUI and faces up to eight years in prison.

The Daily-Journal reports the plea deal means Kibbons will not be tried on charges that he sexually abused his stepdaughter, who was under the age of 13 at the time of the alleged offense. Kankakee County prosecutors agreed to drop those charges if Kibbons pleaded guilty to the DUI, which carries a greater maximum prison term.

On June 4, 2012, Kibbons drove his pickup head-on into a car driven by then 19-year-old Zach Jones. Kibbons fled the scene of the accident but was later arrested by Illinois State Police. He had a blood alcohol content twice the legal limit.

According to the Journal, Kibbons faced up to seven years for the sexual abuse charges and up to 12 for the aggravated DUI. But under current state sentencing laws, Kibbons would have served half of his sentence if convicted of sexual abuse.

The DUI, on the other hand, must be served at 85 percent of the sentence, and prosecutors agreed to ask for no more than eight years in exchange for his guilty plea.